The change: a history of sylvania
by dale n' hill
Summary: this is not so much a crossover as it is a "what will happen if the bronies were in the apocalypses" i have chosen the emberverse because of how fascinating it is. this is the background for a story that i have been typing up, whether i will publish it remains to be seen . hope you enjoy it. teen for references to death and other things.


Preface:

I love the emberverse series, sort of. I love the core concept and some of the lore like the bearkillers, and the united states of Boise. But a lot of it is just kind of, dull. I don't care about juniper Mackenzie or lady death, and there are a lot of thing that i wished Stirling focused on more. I think that the dominions and the free cities of Yakima should be more than just that countries that opposed Norman, name one Yakima citizen. This story i am going to write will take place in basically in the same universe but in a place that really is ignored for the most part, the east coast. Pennsylvania specifically, so the events of the first 3 books really don't feature much. The change will also take place in the now modern day of 2016, because i was born in the year of the change in the book. I also don't really care to research Pennsylvania geography (i live in Illinois) for what is essentially a fan fic.

Corvallis history department

Change year 100/2116

Sylvania is a strange nation. They started life as series of interconnected subcultures collectively known as nerds or geeks. They were ostracized by the rest of the ancient world for their emphasis on intellect over brawn, as well as their obsessive nature when it comes to their particular hobbies. Fortunately for these groups many of these hobbies were useful for the changed world. They had blacksmiths, warriors, and scholars of the art of war. They fled Philadelphia, the location of one of their yearly migrations, for the country of the Pennsylvania Dutch in the rural countryside. Each of the various variations of nerd created their own communities. The four most important are as follows.

The dawi- based on a tabletop game, many of the dawi believe themselves to be descended from dwarves. They are mainly miners, craftsmen, and fierce heavy infantry. Organized into karak (city-states) ruled by their own kings and presided over by a high king. Their whole culture is based on revenge and eye for an eye. They reside in the Appalachian strongholds that they managed to take.

The SoCA- like the PPA this group was made up of members of the society, war reactors, and some strange group called LARPers, though they are not really all that important in modern society, they were invaluable to the early period as instructors and warriors.

The Amish/Mennonite church- these people are the bedrock of Sylvania society. The Amish and Mennonite farmers were the ones that keep the troops fed during the dying time. Though they like the soca are not as important as they were, but they are the still one of the strongest of the factions in Sylvania.

The equestrian knights- they were one of the largest groups that controlled the now unreachable "virtual world", they were a group that worshiped a pantheon of horse gods and goddesses, headed by the twin goddesses Luna and celestia. They have an ironclad set of ethics that no true equestrian would break.

We will go into further detail of each of these tribes in the later anthropology section, so let us move on to…

Chapter one: politics

The first of the states that preceded Sylvania is the provincial governorship of Pennsylvania. The remnants of the Pennsylvania state government, it was relatively successful and laid the groundwork for the later principality of Sylvania. With the death of the governor in change year 2 marks the rise of its successor state, the republic of Sylvania. The republic was a republic in fact not just technicality like the republic of Iowa in change year 20. Modeled after the revolutionary period of America's history, it worked far better than the system in place immediately before the change. This system worked very well and is still more or less practiced to this day, with the title of president switched for prince and the term now lasts for the life of the prince. But to truly understand the context, we have to see the Sylvania social system

The gentry- the landed upper class, unlike nobles the gentry is not a birthright. Anyone can be a part of the gentry, and one born to the gentry can fall from their station. They are not masters to be obeyed, they are successful neighbors to admire.

The captains- leaders of the industrial upper class, from the pre-change idiom "captains of industry" the factory owners, merchants, and bankers.

The yeotry- the landed middle class, the largest of the social classes. They are the backbone of Sylvania society. If it weren't for they wouldn't have any kind of democracy at all.

The prince- the title is a little misleading, they have essentially the same powers and weaknesses of the old president. They are commander in chief of the military and little else. They are elected by the people as soon as the old prince dies or is disposed by the legislature after they are considered unable.

The republic was replaced by the principality in change year 10, the system that has been in place to this day. The people vote for mayors, senators and governors as they had for centuries. They are happy with this system and would fight fiercely to protect it as many would-be warlords have learned.

The military

Sylvania has 3 different military traditions. The dawi use heavy infantry tactics based on a combination of Norse formations and tactics and artillery. The equestrians are surprisingly more a pre-alexander Greek army with strong calvety support and additional pike and shot style tactics with crossbows. The tribes that live in the Sylvania frontiers are magnificent skirmisher.

Chapter 2: Lands of Sylvania

List of former states they control

Pennsylvania

New jersey

Delaware

Maryland

Virginia

States they mostly control

West Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

States they have territory in

Ohio

New York

Connecticut

Rhode island

Neighbors

norrheim

greater Britain

the free republic of Richland

Lone stars

Former nations that make up their conquests

Appalachia

The Aryan nation

The ku Klux knighthood

The church of flesh

Chapter 3: enemies

An emerging expanding kingdom like sylvana makes foes of all kinds. From city-states to bandits, with their strict code of morality they don't really have any toleration for systems or people that they see as unjust. Once they make an enemy, they don't stop until they have been ground into dust. However they never fight a war just for the sake of conquest.

Former enemies

The Aryans- they started as the strongest of the mrid of bandit hordes of the first few change years. Their philosophical outlook was a system where people of European ancestry were innately superior and all other human only existed to act as their slaves. They took control of a stretch of the Allegheny plateau and acted as the biggest of their

Many nemesis in the beginning. They were destroyed in the sylvanian liberation wars

The church of flesh- an organized (sort of) group of eaters. They believed that the eating of human flesh is not only permissible but a holy act. They could never really be a threat to the nation as a whole but they destroyed several settlements trying. They were destroyed in change year 12 at the battle of the Pitt.

Internal enemies

The Appalachians- the most dangerous of Sylvania's internal threats. They tried to destroy as many of their strongholds as possible, but they don't always merit such a fate or just are not worth the effort. The Appalachians have on occasion banded together to form large raiding parties, sometimes hundreds if not thousands strong. The have been breeding like cockroaches in the heart of their young empire.

The urban tribes- the Sylvanias do an excellent job of clearing their dead cities of eaters and recolonizing them. But even Sylvania can't clear every single tunnel and corner. The dead cities are still a dangerous place to go alone.

External threats

Greater Britain- the British crown has claimed the east coast a long time ago, regardless of the people living there. So far they have not pushed it that much, that doesn't mean that they don't try every so often. The British send expedition after expedition, some as small as a band of down on their luck sailors to massive armies. The guard has to be raised at all times.

Norrheim- the Northmen are in many ways the Sylvanias brother nation. They were both relatively isolated kingdoms that after a period of modernization and improvement expanded very quickly. That is where the similarities end. The Northman are a warrior culture, Sylvania is nothing if not peaceful. The Northman after assimilating a tribe remove as much of their identity as possible, the Sylvanias promote diversity. These opposing world views as well as their mutual territorial ambitions in New York and Connecticut lead to a great deal of tension between them. For now they agreed to simply expand in other areas for now.

Madawaska Republic- once an ally of Norrheim they became a subject state when the Northman got large enough that the republic was no longer a major part of Norrheim survival. They still have their own ambitions and they yearn for the power they once had.

Lone stars- rovers from the rio Grande that have set up shop in in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. Their cowboys are a rather big nuisance raiding the sylvan frontier. Some cow bosses have higher ambitions though.

The midwestern republics- republic is a relative term in the midwest, iowa is just a absolute monarchy with different terms. The principality is more democratic than any of the so called republics, but i digress. They are more concerned with fighting each other at the moment and currently want only trade relations with their neighbors. But someday the giants of the interior will awaken and who knows what they will do.

Expeditions- the western powers sometimes think that everything east of the Mississippi is just tribes of barbarians. That sometimes leads rich, charismatic, or just desperate noble sons to lead armies to the east to conquer realms for their very own. Most are destroyed before they make it this far, some do.

Chapter 4: Sylvania mythology

The Sylvanias have some interesting beliefs, such as the existence of a universal force they refer to as the warp. The warp reflects the thoughts, beliefs, and feelings of the creatures that live within it. So basically if enough people believe in the same thing it is true. So instead of the gods dictating the lives and fates of believers they are more of a guide or tool. This gives the Sylvanias a complete freedom from the will of their gods.

Equestrian pantheon

The equestrians have 6 pony-goddesses that they primarily worship, applejack goddess of the orchard, flutter shy goddess of the forest, pinkie goddess of celebration, rarity goddess of wealth and weaving, rainbow dash the goddess of the weather, and twilight goddess of spell craft and wisdom. They also act as patrons for the 6 main virtues of the equestrians

Twilight - trust

Applejack- honesty

Flutter shy- kindness

Rarity- generosity

Pinkie- levity

Rainbow- loyalty

They are the most important of the goddesses but not the most powerful, that goes to the 4 princesses. Twilight is one. Luna the moon goddess, celestia the sun goddess, and cadence the goddess of love are the others. There are many more gods in this pantheon, but due to its fluid nature it would be too hard to list them all. So it will list the ones that been around the longest.

Prince shining armor- god of war, husband of cadence and brother to twilight.

Big mac- god of farming, brother of applejack

Discord- a chaotic trickster

The doctor- god of time

King sombra- god of shadow

Zecora- goddess of herbal remedies and forest craft

Derpy- goddess of misfits

Queen chrysalis- goddess of lust and temptation

Nightmare moon- a secondary aspect of Luna, lady of fear and darkness

Chapter 5: the equestrian knights

We have talked extensively on the equestrian knights through this book, so we should probably get to the point and explain what exactly they are. The equestrian knights are the private force of the prince (after all the first prince was one of them), they act as law enforcement and peacekeepers and as soldiers in times of war. They have series of unforgivable crimes that they would never commit or let go unpunished.

Murder

Rape

Treason

Cannibalism

Slave trading

And abuse of children or animals

These rules apply to anyone and everyone. If a gentlemen kills his wife, he is executed. If a soldier rapes a peasant, he is killed. There are no exceptions for anyone. This black and white morality makes them poor politicians, despite their prominence in Sylvania society. This can also affect them socially because if they don't like you, they will let you know it. Their adventurous lifestyle attracts recruits from all walks of life, they accept everyone regardless of creed, race, and background. However not everyone meets their strict standard. you have to be able to make yourself useful, are you smart enough, strong enough, dedicated enough. If you are, will you always keep your promises, will you give in to your darker nature when given the chance. They are meant to be the pinnacle of sylvania's people in every true sense of the word, not everyone is worthy of it. When you become a full knight you get the mark, a symbol all your own that shows the world who you are. This symbol is chosen by the knight himself and is extremely important. This mark will go on on the shield of the knight in question act as his personal coat of arms. No two marks are alike. The knights typically travel in groups of 6 and do great deeds when not completing missions for the prince. These deeds can be anything from killing a particularly savage beast, to finding a particularly special artifact, to just fighting in a tournament. These activities make them more popular with the common folk and help grow the legend of the group who did them. They are not always warriors though, they are also storytellers trying to keep the stories from before the change alive. Stories like the busters of ghosts, or the war in the stars. Their preservation of these tales really help paint a picture of the world before the change that universities around the world can really use. They also place a real importance on knowing the history of the period right before the change. Most peoples seem to prefer to pretend that the 800 years before the change never happened, equestrian knights think that valuable knowledge on human nature, politics, and strategy can be gained from them and it would be a shame to just forget all of that. Yet another example of academia's debt to these scholar-warriors. They have been a beacon of light during the dark times of the change and the generation long slip to barbarism that affected the rest of the east coast (with the exception of maine). Their commitment to the right thing, to preserving all the good things of the pre change world, and the art of war put them along with bosien regulars and the Dúnedain Rangers as some of the finest warriors on the continent.


End file.
